Local News

Portraits of the Past: Joe Duncan, the Legend of Rock Creek

Southwest Morgan County resident was real-life boogeyman for neighboring kids

By Community History Writers

Special to the Times

Posted:
10/30/2017 05:08:59 PM MDT

This headstone marks where General G. and Margaret Duncan are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Fort Morgan. One of their grandsons, Joe Duncan, was a sort of real-life boogeyman for the neighboring children around the Duncan family homestead in southwest Morgan County near Hoyt. No pictures of Joe Duncan are known to exist. (Linda Midcap / Special to the Times)

Editor's Note: This is part of a monthly series of stories by the Community History Writers, a group of area individuals committed to documenting and writing about local history and the people, places and happenings in Morgan County.

Tucked away in the southwestern corner of Morgan County, Rock Creek threads its way north to the South Platte River. It is an idyllic setting dotted with indigenous cottonwood trees, natural prairie fauna and lush crops.

Rock Creek also has a legend.

While some legends can be flesh and blood inspirations, others may be fantastical and scary, blurring the lines between human and specter.

The legend of Rock Creek is none other than Joe Duncan, who once served as a real-life boogeyman for neighboring children in the Hoyt and Wiggins areas. While he never hurt anyone, he did strike fear into those children's hearts. Even today, as adults, longtime residents can recall vivid memories of the illusive Joe Duncan.

Adding to his legend status is the fact that there are no known photographs of him or of his family. Memories of Joe Duncan paint him as a slim figure of average height. His draft registration card lists him as having brown hair and blue eyes and being 5 feet, 7 seven inches tall. There appears to be nothing physically distinguishing about him other than his bizarre behavior.

Family history

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An internet search reveals a much more distinguished family history.

Joe Duncan's paternal grandfather was General G. Duncan. General's given name was Grant Hazard Duncan. Born in Iowa on Oct. 8, 1864, he added General to his name about 1900, even though there is no record of him obtaining that military rank. General's wife, Margaret, was born in Missouri. The 1900 census records the couple as living in Marion, Missouri, with three children and Margaret's grandmother.

By 1910, General and Margaret were living in the Hoyt area with three children, including Joe's father, William Leo. William Leo would go on to serve in World War I and return to the Hoyt area, where he would court and marry Miss Ethel Eldrick, the schoolteacher at the Rock Creek School, on Dec. 4, 1917, in Denver.

General G. and Margaret Duncan lived and worked their homesteads and lived in the area until their deaths. They were buried together in Riverside Cemetery in Fort Morgan.

Ethel was born in Ohio in 1894. Evidently she was inspired to move west and become a teacher on the wide-open Plains. It is possible that her adventurous spirit and fortitude were attractive characteristics to William Leo Duncan. In the 1930 census, they listed three children, boys Grant, William and James Victor, aka Joe.

Family falls apart

The 1940 census tells the sad story of the break up of the family, with the husband and father, William Leo, living in Kremling with son William. Ethel and Joe continued to live in the Hoyt area on the family homestead. Life on the homestead was a hardscrabble existence. At some point William returned to the farm, and he and Joe farmed the 160 acres they owned and also worked for area farmers.

But the harshness of their lives would only get worse, as both Joe and William descended into a debilitating mental illness. The homestead began its gradual decline as the buildings became dilapidated and the machinery wore out and rusted away. Weeds took over the yard, as the goats' efforts could not keep up.

Maybe it was in desperation that Joe began his nocturnal journeys to steal gas and oil from neighbors. They soon had to lock their tractors and toolboxes, since anything not fastened down began to disappear. Joe got destructive with one farmer, pouring sand into the crankcase of his brand new tractor. It is believed that Joe took umbrage to the treatment he had received at the hands of that neighbor.

But other neighbors also reported nighttime visitations by Joe Duncan, as evidenced by his signature shoe prints that featured the outline of the shoe with toe prints visible within the outline.

Nocturnal visits

The Midcap family lived just a mile from the Duncans, and Mike Midcap recalled several instances of Joe's "neighborly calls."

As Joe would enter the yard, the dogs, Rough and Ready, would greet him with growls and angry barking while also keeping a healthy distance. Mike and his twin brother, Mitch, slept in the basement of the house with the garden-level windows open in the summer to catch the cool breeze. They would be awakened by the barking dogs, and then they could hear Joe's dragging footsteps as he came to the windows to peer in. His slow, raspy breath added an eerie touch.

Mike recalled leaping out of bed and running to check the lock on the basement door leading to the exterior entrance. A few moments later, under the covers while grasping his baseball bat, he heard Joe pull on the door against the latch as if to get in.

Also, Joe left other evidence of his presence. In the spring, the Midcap boys would go out to feed the bum lambs, only to find nothing left but telltale shoe prints. Another time, the boys went out to the camper to prepare for a mountain fishing trip. Inside, they found a half-eaten pie, covered in mold. Evidently Joe had made himself at home for a day or two.

Mike Midcap recalled a Sunday evening when he was enjoying an episode of "Bonanza" with his family until his mother asked if he had shut up the chickens. His blood turned to ice. It was dark outdoors and Joe Duncan could be hiding anywhere! In a burst of speed, he ran out of the house past the grain bins, slammed the door shut on the chicken house, and raced back to the house all without missing any of the TV show. To this day, Mike credits the specter of Joe Duncan with his ability to run the 100-meter dash.

What were terrifying incidents for 10-year-old boys now serve as scary stories to entertain the next generation of Midcaps.

Similar tales

Other neighbors, the Erkers and the Lingos, also experienced these chilling nighttime visits.

Norma Lingo recalled seeing Joe's signature shoe prints in their yard after a rain. She knew Joe lurked about on other occasions. Her daughter, Peggy Lingo Manino, remembered being terrified when hearing Joe's footsteps around the house through the open windows.

Children in the Hoyt/Wiggins area knew about Joe Duncan and were terrified of him. Community members north of Wiggins had spotted Joe roaming within a 20-mile radius. As far as the children were concerned, Joe was hiding behind every bush ready to jump out and scare them.

Truth be told, Joe Duncan likely was the one who lived in fear of others.

Mike Erker tells a story of the time he and his sister, Shelia, rode their horses to the Duncan farm and caught Joe off guard. Mike Erker painted a picture of a man desperate to get away, running to the creek and disappearing into the tall grasses. Joe's gait resembled a coyote as he utilized all four limbs in his escape. It is believed that Joe had dug a series of holes in the tall grasses as hiding places.

Stranger still was Joe's attire. His shirt was a gunnysack that had holes cut for his head and arms. On his head he wore a leather aviator's cap, which some firmly believe came from the pilot who died in the 1953 plane crash in the area. Mike Erker could count on seeing Joe Duncan every day as he rode the bus home from school. Joe would be either on the top of the windmill or in the top of one of the trees in the creek. What never wavered was what he wore on his head, the leather aviator cap.

The Erker family lived the closest to the Duncan family and had the most interaction with them. Mary Erker would send a loaf of homemade bread to Mrs. Duncan every Saturday. One Saturday she sent children Mike and Shelia on their bicycles to deliver the bread. Mary Erker told the children to give the bread to Mrs. Duncan only, and to stay while she ate it. The week prior, Mary Erker had witnessed Joe taking the bread from his mother as Mrs. Erker drove away. It was during that visit that Mrs. Duncan told Mike and Shelia that she didn't want them to ever come back because Joe was "getting worse" and she didn't want them to get hurt. They never returned.

Around that same time, Mike Midcap was working the field adjacent to the Duncan homestead and noticed Joe with his .22 rifle hunting rabbits. Eventually Mike observed what looked like Joe pointing his rifle at him. As Mike drew closer, he couldn't believe what he saw. Joe was definitely aiming his rifle at him, ready to shoot. It didn't take but a second and the implement was pulled out of the ground, the tractor was turned in the opposite direction, and Mike Midcap was flying across the field in road gear.

Emmie Clark, the mail route carrier, was essential to the Duncans' survival. Her family also owned a small general store in the Hoyt area. Mrs. Duncan would leave a list of groceries and money in the mailbox, and the next day, Emmie would deliver groceries and the mail. There was no other way for them to get food, as all the pickups, trucks and tractors did not function, and Mrs. Duncan most assuredly suffered from osteoporosis. Her bent frame was clothed in only one dress, likely all she had.

Worse times hit

Just as it seemed that things couldn't get any worse, they did. Joe's behavior was getting worse and Fred H. Midcap, along with his father, Fred C. Midcap, took Mike and Mitch Midcap with them to visit William Leo Duncan. The purpose of the visit was to ask William Leo to get Joe some help.

Mike Midcap remembered William Leo's house to be two boxcars attached and filled with buffalo robes and old flintlock rifles. He likened it to a mountain man's house. There was no running water or electricity and kerosene lamps for lighting. A few weeks later, there was an accident with one of the lamps that burned the dwelling and its contents. William Leo was badly burned. After a lengthy hospital stay, he died and left behind huge medical bills and the homestead in his name. Because that homestead could be sold to pay the bills, Ethel and her boys, William and Joe, lost their home.

It was a very cold day in 1964 when Morgan County Sheriff Howard Mann, and his deputies arrived at the Duncan home to evict the family. Mrs. Duncan and William offered no resistance. However, Joe was having none of it and ran through the grasses and disappeared into one of the many holes he had dug. The sheriff and deputies decided to try again another day and left. Reports vary as to how many times they attempted to apprehend Joe, but most say three to four times.

Both Joe and William were sent to a state mental hospital, possibly in either Colorado or Vermont. Years later they were released and melted back into society. But they most probably moved to Vermont, where Ethel's family had lived. In fact, Ethel and Grant are both buried in Vermont.

What was left

After the eviction, Ed Erker bought the Duncan homestead. A few neighbors joined the Erker family in assessing the household contents. What was left told a sad story. The house was no more than a shack, without running water or electricity and missing shingles that exposed the sky and gaps in the sideboards. The heating source was a central stove fueled by tumbleweeds. Winters had to be brutal. Mrs. Duncan was most probably a hoarder, with piles and piles of magazines and old school textbooks. Her bed held a crescent impression just the right size for her bent body. The outbuildings were a shambles.

Later while cleaning, the Erkers found a buried, oily gunnysack that contained tools stolen from the neighborhood by Joe. All were in pristine condition due to Joe's careful treatment of them.

No evidence remains of the Duncan homestead, and the inhabitants are long deceased. But they live on in the memories and stories told to the next generation. They are fantastical, scary stories that can thrill and delight. But in reality the situation reveals a time when mental illness was taboo and resources in rural areas did not exist. Neighbors of the Duncans were shocked to learn that William suffered from mental illness more than Joe, who showed more obvious signs. One can speculate possible genetic or environmental causes for the illness, but no one knows the definite reason. While we don't know, and probably never will, we can only sympathize with the mother who lived in poverty and squalor as she watched her sons descend into a dark abyss.

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